


it's morning now (it's brighter now)

by inlovewithimpossibility



Series: cerys' s8 episode codas [12]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Paradise Dimension, Post-Episode: s08e10 Fadeout, Post-Series, Spolicity Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:08:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22542274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithimpossibility/pseuds/inlovewithimpossibility
Summary: They get to have each other for forever.She can’t overestimate how incredible that realization feels.It’s strange though. As Felicity sits in the perfect morning sun, the rays streaming in low through the window and illuminating Oliver’s beautiful face in their light, she realizes she’s not feeling exactly as she thought she would.[a post-8x10 olicity reunion extension wherein we actually address the fact that their kids are still on earth]
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, William Clayton & Mia Smoak
Series: cerys' s8 episode codas [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1518755
Comments: 52
Kudos: 190





	it's morning now (it's brighter now)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys,  
> I ran a poll over on Twitter to see which 8x10 fics you wanted to see and an Olicity reunion extension won by a pretty large margin so here it is. I wanted to address how relieved and happy they are to be together whilst also addressing the issue of William and Mia and I hope that this does so. Please let me know what you think and if you enjoy, please leave a kudos/comment!

Felicity feels as if she’s dreaming.

She’s not entirely sure that she’s not.

Having spent twenty years away from Oliver, not knowing exactly where he was or whether he was okay, getting to lay her eyes on him and hold him with her arms is entirely overwhelming.

This place is incredible, a tailor-made paradise just for them, filled with everything they could want or need.

Laying in their bed in the loft, which Oliver explained to her last night he chose for it feeling like their first real home together where they’d been authentically _them,_ Felicity revels in being able to run her hand up the bare skin of Oliver’s arm. She feels as if she’s 26 again, discovering Oliver’s body and learning how to love him in a different place each night as they journeyed across the world together. The novelty of having him sleeping next to her is something she doesn’t think will wear off for a long time.

As her fingers reach his shoulder, his chest still rising and falling slowly in his slumber, Felicity cannot help but smirk as she remembers last night. Once she’d gotten over how absolutely incredible it was to look at Oliver in the flesh, they’d quickly devolved into their old habits and she teased him for the fact that, despite how romantic the concept of his paradise looking like where he first saw her is, technically it meant that his ideal world was built around them in business wear in an office alone.

He blushed and hung his head, before smirking right back at her and showing her both just how much he’d missed her _and_ how much he’s clearly been thinking about these office fantasies the past twenty years. They’d left no surface unexplored, coming back together in a way that made both of them feel as if they had never separated. It had been utterly perfect and blissful and Felicity felt truly _alive_ for the first time in two decades.

And it hadn’t ended there.

Their loft, preserved exactly as it was when they lived there in late 2015, provided ample more opportunity for reflection and rediscovery. Felicity isn’t surprised that they’d both been so emotional, many tears were shed and the two of them clung to each other with as much force as possible, as if scared that if they let go, they’d be forced apart once more.

They finally made it up the stairs, somehow finding the energy for one last round in their bed. Both she and Oliver wept through their most tender round, holding each other close and maintaining eye contact constantly as they knowingly brought each other to climax. Despite the numerous more intense orgasms and far more passionate positions, Felicity knows that it’s that final round that she will always hold dear. It was there, in their bed in their home, that she finally realized that after everything they’ve been through, they get to have this for forever.

They get to have each other for forever.

She can’t overestimate how incredible that realization feels.

It’s strange though. As Felicity sits in the perfect morning sun, the rays streaming in low through the window and illuminating Oliver’s beautiful face in their light, she realizes she’s not feeling exactly as she thought she would.

She thought that she’d feel complete, as if everything within her was finally settling at peace. This moment, this reunion, has been her one sole wish for herself in twenty years.

But that’s the thing, she’s no longer just herself anymore and as perfectly and incandescently happy as she is to be with Oliver again, to hold him in her arms and kiss him, she can’t help but worry about what she’s left behind on the other side of that portal.

For twenty years, her main focus has been the kids and their wellbeing and to step through the portal and leave them to their lives was one of the hardest decisions she’s ever had to make. She’s always known that the possibility was there, that when she was ready, she could be reunited with her husband in a different plane.

But as a mother, how do you decide that your children no longer need you? How do you know that you’ve taught them all they need to be safe and succeed? It’s the question that’s haunted her for twenty years but with Mia finally finishing college and finding her footing in the world, and with William securely heading up Smoak Tech, Felicity had made the decision that it was finally her time to go.

It wasn’t easy and she knows it’s not as if Mia and William would never have needed her again, but she also knows that she’s given them enough of a support network, including each other, that they _will_ be able to lean on if and when they need it.

When she spoke to them about it, they were incredibly supportive, promising her that they’d find their way. She knows they didn’t tell her their fears to her face but Felicity is glad to know that they’re in a place to see how it’s what she needs after all these years.

However, they’re still her _kids_ and being fully cut off from even knowing that they’re okay is niggling at her in a way she didn’t expect.

“F’licity?”

Felicity stills her gentle touch in surprise at Oliver’s groggy and sleep-filled voice cutting through the silence of the early morning. Despite her pondering, she can’t help the smile that spreads across her face as he rolls more firmly onto his back and smiles up at her, his eyes filled with nothing but light and affection.

“Morning.” Felicity smiles, laughing as Oliver moves deftly, holding himself up on his arms as he rolls to hover over her. Felicity is momentarily distracted by his arms and the way the muscles ripple as he holds himself steady but she quickly shakes her head, smiling up at Oliver’s knowing smirk.

“Good morning. God, you are so beautiful.” He replies, his voice deep and sincere and Felicity sighs contently as he bends to kiss her. It’s not chaste, but despite its thorough depth, it feels as utterly sweet and loving as any good morning kiss. It’s crazy to Felicity that they can fall so easily back into a routine after twenty years, but she also knows that it’s just the depth of their love for one another. Whilst twenty years felt like a lifetime whilst separated, now that they’re reunited, it feels like a blip.

“You’re only saying that because I look 23 again.” Felicity counters with a grin as they pull away but Oliver doesn’t match her humor, keeping his expression serious as he seems to examine every inch of her face as if he’s trying to memorize it.

“Not true. You have always been and will always be beautiful to me.” Oliver states, his voice so pure and honest that Felicity feels tears begin to sting in her eyes.

“The biggest of dittos.” She finds herself saying before she really thinks and the two of them devolve into laughter very quickly, Oliver rolling back to his back and tugging Felicity on top of him instead. Once she calms, she smiles contently and nuzzles into Oliver’s chest. “I love you.”

“I love you so much.” Oliver almost whispers and she almost shudders as she feels him plant a long kiss to her hair. It’s these small moments that she thinks she may have missed the most when a quiet domesticity washes over them. “What’s wrong?”

Oliver’s question takes Felicity aback. She has no concept of how he could ever know that anything’s wrong. Surely as far as he knows she’s basking in a glorious morning after? Whilst she wants to be completely honest with him, the idea of ruining their _first_ morning together in twenty years isn’t what she wants at all. “Oliver, we’re literally in paradise. Nothing’s wrong.”

Oliver, however, is clearly having none of it. “Honey, it may have been twenty years, but I know you better than anyone. Something’s wrong. You’re doing that thing with your eyebrows.” He adjusts them slightly so he looks down at her and Felicity curses internally as he gently runs his fingers along where she knows her crinkle appears.

“Damn crinkle. You got both the kids using that to my disadvantage as well.” Felicity speaks without thinking but her voice wavers as she mentions the kids, her heart clenching painfully as their faces the last time she saw them springs to mind. they’d both been crying, smiling at her through their tears and clinging to each other as they watched her walk away. She can’t deny that those first few steps were some of the hardest she’d ever had to take.

“Oh… it’s the kids, huh?” Oliver questions, his own expression growing far more serious as he looks at her in concern. Felicity sighs, sitting up and taking the sheet with her to cover her naked torso as she settles more upright. Oliver follows, sitting up next to her, and Felicity is grateful as he reaches over to take her hand, reminding her that he’s there.

“I just, I know that I should be nothing but happy and I am. This has made me happier than I’ve been in so very long. I can’t even begin to describe that to you. But I have to admit that it’s also a little bittersweet. It’s eating at me, not knowing whether they’re okay, and I know I should be happy just to be with you but being a mom is the most important part of my past twenty years and…”

Her voice grows more frantic as she rushes to explain herself and the tears build in her eyes as she can’t stop thinking of the tears sliding down Mia’s perfect cheeks or the sound of William trying to hide his sniffling from her. She just wants to see them, to know that she hasn’t made completely the wrong decision and she knows that it’s not possible but it’s what she wants nonetheless.

She chances a look at Oliver, terrified to see anger or heartbreak on his face, but she’s completely surprised when all she can see is his eyes shining with that same affection and love. He’s tearing up too but he reaches out with his other hand to cup her cheek and it’s so familiar yet so foreign that Felicity shudders in a sob as she leans into the touch.

“I know, honey. You’re such a good mom. You’ve done such a good job with them.” Oliver assures her, his voice gentle and tender, and Felicity sniffles, nuzzling into his hand as his fingers bend to wipe her tears from her cheeks.

“Mia said she got to meet you. The version of her that came to your funeral, that is.” Felicity cannot help but smile at the thought of that as she squeezes Oliver’s hand in reassurance that she is okay. Knowing that her daughter got to meet her father, that she was trained by him and that she got to share that connection with him firsthand has been a great comfort to Felicity over the past twenty years.

“Seeing her and William was what I needed to finally say goodbye to that realm, to see them grown and happy and just so beautiful, it was what I needed to pass on as peacefully as I could,” Oliver explains, his voice shaking now. Felicity stumbles for a second, she’d had no idea that William had also gone back with Mia but she’s so grateful that the two of them had that chance. They deserved that time with their father, and Oliver deserved that time with them to get to know them and see what incredible people his babies have grown to be. “But that’s not entirely what I mean.”

Felicity frowns at that, raising her eyes from where she’d been concentrating on tracing her fingers across the back of his hand. Oliver is smiling at her, with the same twinkle in his eyes as yesterday that tells her he’s really enjoying knowing something that she doesn’t. Felicity’s not entirely sure that’s fair now, seeing as from what she can work out, he’s essentially a god and therefore omniscience in some degree seems given. “What’d you…?”

“You trust me?” Oliver questions, his eyes still sparkling with glee and Felicity has to resist the urge to snort at the absurdity of his question.

“With everything in and of me.” She replies instead, watching the way a smile spreads across his face like a fire warming you from the cold. Felicity keeps her eye on him, frowning as he stands and throws on that glorious Henley and his pants before heading to the chest of drawers and producing a more casual set of clothes for her as well. He presses a long kiss to her forehead as he hands the pile over, obviously unable to resist a few more as he peppers them down her face to her neck. Felicity giggles and bats him away so she can stand and pull the clothes on, smirking at the way Oliver hovers a few feet away and how his eyes never leave her.

Still baffled, she turns to him when dressed to see Oliver extending his hand out with a wide grin on his face. “Hold onto me tightly, Felicity.”

“ _Oh_.” Felicity freezes before a smile of her own spreads across her face and she wraps both her hands around his one, pressing her body into the strong musculature of his arm. She’s missed the safe feeling that can come just from his presence at her side and she leans into it now, letting him lead her from the loft, knowing that she’d follow him anywhere he wants to take her.

It turns out that the place they’re headed is a very familiar one.

Just past the high-rises that make up the small replica of their home city, the urban buildings give way to rolling fields and countryside that sparkles in the mid-morning sun. There, a few meters from where the stone concrete of the sidewalk gives way to the soft, flowing grass of the plain, sits the most beautiful lake.

Lush green trees form a border around it, their reflections dancing in the water with the light of the sun. it creates the most gorgeous of pictures, the gentle breeze creating small patterns in the water. It’s stunning and Felicity feels herself gasp as she lays her eyes upon for the sheer beauty as well as the familiarity.

“This is just like…” She trails off, looking up at Oliver with wide eyes to see him grinning down at her. There’s a slight trepidation in his gaze that seems to settle as he takes in her smiling face.

“Ivy Town. The lake there. Those were some of my favorite memories from that summer. Just getting to spend those evenings with you, holding you in my arms as the sun went down… it was perfect.” He tells her softly, bending to brush a kiss on top of her hair and Felicity sighs, leaning into the warmth of his body as she looks out upon the body of water. She remembers many a night at the lake just outside Ivy Town, it was where they’d escape to when they wanted to feel like they were still on the road. They’re some of Felicity’s fondest memories as well, cuddled under a single blanket as Oliver talked her through the constellations. “So this is the perfect place for this.”

Felicity frowns as Oliver carefully extracts himself from her arms and approaches the lake, stretching his arms out in front of him. She can’t help but stumble after him, rushing to try and discern what on earth it is that he’s doing. “I don’t understand.”

“Hey, honey? Let me do my thing?” Oliver asks with a teasing grin, looking over at her with an affectionate shake of his head and his eyes sparkling in amusement. Felicity immediately blushes, stepping back a little to give him some space.

“Sorry.”

She never could have guessed what Oliver is about to do next, however. Closing his eyes, he waves his arms in a circular motion and Felicity is flabbergasted as the water in the lake begins to separate and open up a cavern in the middle of the pool. Within the space, figures begin to form and Felicity gasps as she realizes that it’s the images of Mia and William.

“Oh my…” She gasps as she moves back to Oliver’s side, his arms dropping to wrap around her waist as he finishes his task. Felicity leans back into him and takes in the sight before her.

The kids are quite clearly in the kitchen at the Queen Mansion, Mia sat on a stool at the island whilst William stands on the other side of the counter. He’s serving food onto a plate and Mia is watching him with a wide grin on her face, shaking her head with an affectionate eye roll as he clearly says something she finds silly. 

“Can they hear us?” Felicity questions, keeping her voice low just in case, and Oliver’s arms tighten around her and he steps closer as he answers.

“No, we can only watch like this.” He confirms at a far more normal volume before snorting as Mia pushes up from the stool to lean across the counter and gently slap her brother on the shoulder admonishingly. “They remind me of me and Thea.”

“I think Will’s definitely Thea in that equation.” Felicity counters with a grin, her heart and stomach finally settling as she watches her children smile widely at each other. William rounds the counter, sliding a plate in front of Mia and pressing a kiss to her cheek as he does so. Mia waits until he settles on the stool next to her before she turns, grasping his face in her hands and dramatically kissing him back. “I love that they’re so close.”

“They’re perfect. Just like their mother.” Oliver whispers from behind her, his voice clearly full of amazement and wonder and Felicity finds that she can’t help but agree with his tone at the very least. For twenty years, nothing has been able to take her breath away more than the sight of their children together. It has always felt like a god-given miracle to Felicity.

“I don’t know. I think there’s some pretty impeccable genetics on the paternal side there.” She counters with a smirk, turning to grin up at Oliver and he smiles down at her, tears swimming in his eyes. “We can’t communicate with them.”

She speaks after a long pause, her voice far more of a statement than a question and Oliver smiles down at her sadly, shaking his head.

“Not directly. Not like this. You can enter their world but not for very long and you can’t be seen or heard. But you can communicate in other ways. I left you notes and such.”

Felicity freezes at that admission. She’s found so many notes over the years, enough to fill a shoebox stored in the closet at the mansion. None of them were every that specific, words of love and encouragement that Felicity had been so sure she just never found whilst Oliver was still with them. It wasn’t uncommon for him to leave her such notes around the house when they got together or when they got married and Felicity had merely assumed that these were relics of her previous life that she should treasure as such. They never gave her any indication that they were actually from Oliver in that present.

“You… I thought you’d written those all before you left and I was just utterly unobservant.” She stumbles out, with a watery chuckle and Oliver laughs as well, leaning over to kiss her gently before they separate and both turn to watch the kids tease each other over breakfast.

“Do you want to go in?” Oliver asks her gently after a while, his hand rubbing soothingly over her waist as he kisses her hair in reassurance. Felicity sighs, leaning into his warmth as she watches the way Mia grins up at her big brother as if he lights up her whole world.

“No, seeing them is enough for now. They’re safe and happy, and that’s what matters most.” Felicity finds herself saying, taking in the sight of the kids for one more long moment before she looks up at Oliver’s face, nodding with a smile. He drops a gentle kiss to her lips before he closes the portal, returning to her side like a magnet when he’s done. “Where to?”

“Wherever you want. I’d go anywhere with you.”


End file.
